Says actor-producer Ajay Devgn, whose film hits screens this Friday
I know you will say Blue and Main Aurr Mrs Khanna are a different genre, but which of the two films are you worried about?
Honestly speaking, I am not worried about either. Call it over-confidence or whatever; I have seen my film and I feel that it works. And the kind of fabulous response we've got from the censors and others just reaffirms that.
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Have you gone all out to promote All The Best?
(Laughs) Considering my standards, I have done more than what I usually do. I have done 10 Ka Dum with Fardeen and Sanju and I also went for Li'l Champs. It's the need of the hour. In the South, the producers' association limits how and where you promote your film. You can't go to new avenues and start promoting because if one producer does it, then the other person wants to do it, and then small producers and films suffer. In the past, the promotion budget for a film was one crore. Now you hear that someone is spending 6 crores and you feel that you are spending less. People are spending up to 10 crores. Where does this stop? And then it boils down to budgets failing and films ending up with losses.
Maybe they should start a similar ceiling in Bollywood.
It's not possible. There is no unity.
Is that why you were not part of the whole producers strike?
Yes, I find it all very farcical when people come and talk on such platforms. They always have hidden agendas. They are more concerned about what they are saying and where they should sit, and who should speak first. It's ridiculous, so I stayed away.
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What are the lessons that you've learnt as a producer.
I learned from Raju Chacha, where I really lost money. I spent 28 crores back then, which is like 150 crores today. I lost 17 crores and for the next two years, I owed people money. I had a mobile phone that was not working well, but I didn't even buy a new one. I worked, and I paid everybody off first. There were people who didn't want to take money because they knew I had a genuine problem but I insisted. And that is the reputation you build for yourself. Like you know when Rohit (Shetty) went to Johnny Lever for All The Best, he said, 'I have one condition. If Ajay will discusses money I will not do this film. Because during Raju Chacha, I have seen him struggling and he forced and paid me my complete amount, so this time I will not take any money.' So this time, he hasn't taken even a penny from me. I believe that is the kind of reputation you should have, and I work for that. And it didn't matter. Two years passed off like this (snaps his fingers).u00a0
Rohit Shetty seems to be Ajay Devgn's favourite director. True?
(Thinks) We've known each other for the past 17-18 years, and we get along very well. He is one of my favourite directors. I think, together, we have made good, entertaining films.
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He is your Karan Johar. He is only making movies with you.
I don't think there's anything like that. It's just that he felt I was right for the movies we did together. In fact, recently we were talking of a script, which we both thought didn't suit me. We are planning that film.
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Will you be producing it?
Maybe I will. But as friends, we were discussing the project and talking about who to cast. It really all depends on the script. If Rohit is making a college love story or something, obviously I am not going to do it. Then we will look for somebody younger.
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Why not a college comedy? Aamir is playing a college student in 3 Idiots.
Maybe Aamir can play a college student after 40 years also. It's okay. I can't do that.
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You've moved away from the genre that made you successful.
It is not an intentional move. I am dying to do action. The last action film I did was Qayamat, which was a super-duper hit. After that, I haven't heard any script that has really excited me. Now I myself want to plan something and I will definitely do some action. Though I am doing Priyan's film, which has very realistic action.u00a0u00a0
Most actors are gravitating towards comedy films because are doing very well.
I think entertaining films do well. I don't think it has anything to do with the genre.
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